Creating value out of waste.
The Salvage Yard was borne from a love of preserving the culturally valuable waste created through demolition, and building beautiful things with it, whilst supporting the wider process of ‘reconstruction’ in our community.
Heightening the awareness and value of that cultural heritage and playing our tiny part in resource management within the building industry!
We aim to be a place for inspiration, resources, fabrication and community.
The Yard was born from Mat and Anna’s sheer obsession of all things good and destined for landfill (or firewood). From our earlier inception as Pumphouse Design and building works, the need for recycled building and sculptural materials for our own projects, and the wide and fabulous response from the Central Victorian community over the past years that we have been based here.
For 20 years, The Salvage Yard unofficially existed in the top paddock of our property in Fryerstown, used as a resource for Pumphouse Design’s building projects.
The growth in the central Victorian community correlated with a growing demand for reclaimed building materials, and the notion that central Victoria could support a full scale salvage yard finally came to fruition.
When the old gravel yard came up for sale in 2010, the Salvage Yard was given it’s wings!
The Yard was developed side by side with the old Tonks hardware store, both evolving out of the mud and dust together, with the view that the two business would complement each other for the future.
Pumphouse design and Tonks Bros hardware store had had a decent working history together, with the renovation of Tonks’ central Castlemaine store back in 2010. During that time, it became obvious that both parties shared a deep commitment to a few key ingredients;
- Love and respect for cultural heritage (of just about anything).
- Commitment to preserving and conserving, an unusual taste for the weird and very well built.
- An ‘old school’ work ethic to getting the job done and…
- Inspiring other people with their enthusiasm along the way!
This project proved successful in many ways. Due to the vision that Jason Mills and Mat Boyle shared, Tonks was given a facelift that integrated Jason’s love of anything old, and Mat’s ability to incorporate it into the newly improved, whilst maintaining Tonk’s integrity as a business that gives a nod to it’s forebears.
Over the following years the two businesses found themselves working in a complimentary manner within the community. The Pumphouse team recognised the asset that Tonks bros was to the community and the community’s ability to support it’s small businesses against the threat of encroaching multi nationals… hence resulting in the ‘business park’ that soon housed Tonks’ new trade store side by side with The Salvage yard, owned and operated by the original Pumphouse Design team.
Unfortunately, 2 years after launching Tonks’ new trade store, in the newly constructed space… Tonks made the very difficult decision to call it quits.